The choice to pursue a career in the nonprofit sector often arises from a desire to avoid the sleaze associated with the corporate world. Every day, your phone sends you notifications about the various ways that corporations ignore the best interests of the public or even knowingly endanger people because it is financially profitable for them to do so. Many nonprofit employees choose their line of work because they consider it more honest and more beneficial to society, or at least they hope it will be that way. Anyone who has worked for a nonprofit will tell you that the nonprofit sector is at least as riddled with corruption as private industry.
Nonprofits are not trying to make a profit, but they are trying to make a name for themselves, and the love of reputation is as corrupting an influence as the love of money. Of course, there is plenty of financial greed in the nonprofit world, too, and plenty of lies to enable it. Just look at the "miscellaneous expenses" column of any grant proposal, including those that have received funding. Most of this is legal. You might be surprised to find your organization under investigation for activities that regulators have never objected to before, and it can sometimes lead to criminal charges. If you are being accused of misusing grant money in the context of your work for a nonprofit organization, contact a Texas white-collar crime lawyer.
When Is It a Crime to Pay Yourself a Salary?
Numerous organizations that provide education and social services receive federal grant money, and the grants vary in terms of how specific they are about how recipients use the money. A nonprofit organization in Texas abruptly shut down in 2018, and several of its high-ranking employees later received criminal charges related to their alleged misuse of federal money. The organization provided host family placement to minors living in Texas without legal immigration status who did not have parents or legal guardians present in the United States. It received all of its funding from an office within the Department of Health and Human Services.
The company's finance director pleaded guilty in 2022 to two counts of theft of federal grant money and conspiracy to commit embezzlement. The trouble began when an audit from the Office of the Inspector General revealed that the business director and two other employees in executive roles received salaries that exceeded the cap indicated in the grant. After the audit, the chief financial director instructed the business director not to adjust the salaries. The chief executive officer and the executive director were also accused of crimes connected to the grant money, but news reports published in April 2024 did not indicate whether they received any criminal charges.
Contact the Law Office of Patrick J. McLain, PLLC About Criminal Defense Cases
A Dallas criminal defense lawyer can help you if you are being accused of misuse of federal funds in connection to your decision-making role at a nonprofit organization. Contact the Law Office of Patrick J. McLain, PLLC, in Dallas, Texas, to discuss your case.